Rahul, your criticism of the UP govt applies to the UPA too

Rahul Gandhi promises to change Uttar Pradesh in five years. Let’s take his word for what it is — poll rhetoric. Probably, he does not introspect enough. Otherwise, he would have realised that his sharp criticism of the Uttar Pradesh government at Barabanki today, applies to the Congress-led UPA government to a great extent at the Centre as well. If the UPA had the answers to all its problems it would not be in the mess it is today. The state government lacks the will to tackle corruption, he said. No argument there. But he should have given a thought to the track record of his government too. He also said the Congress would transform the state into a preferred industrial destination in the country. The examples he cited to make his point — Maharashtra, Assam, Kerala, all Congress-ruled states — were not inspiring enough. He also charged the Mayawati government with being callous towards central flagship programmes such as the MNREGA and other schemes meant for the poor. [caption id=“attachment_137467” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The Congress scion charged the UP government of being callous towards central programmes such as the MNREGA. Reuters”]  [/caption] “Funds meant for development and people’s welfare do not reach the targeted beneficiaries. The MNREGA funds released by the Central government from time to time does not reach the aam admi. It is being guzzled by the middlemen. I want to ask the BSP government where this money goes. Who are the real beneficiaries of this money?” he said. He could ask the same questions to the chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states. They have performed worse on the same parameters. What he does not realise is that the failure of programmes meant for the poor, follow a common template across the country. It has remained unaltered over several decades. Rhetoric will not change that, strong political will and deep personal engagement with the implementation aspects will do. We have not seen that level of commitment from any leader yet. Polls speeches over the decades have not set right even our embarrassingly inefficient Public Distribution System, forget everything else designed to alleviate poverty. Worse, we are still debating the number of poor in the country and what constitutes poverty. All politicians, including Rahul, would be aware of that. They would also be aware that local level politicians of one party or the other are responsible for it. But insincere as they are, they won’t go beyond speeches. If there were no poor in the country, there would be no politics. But that is one aspect of the problems. The bigger issue before the parties right now is to come to terms with post liberalisation political realities. The process of economic reforms and liberalisation has unleashed challenges that no political party is equipped to deal with. The political template is still grooved in the pre-90s socialist days. It shows when Rahul carefully avoids any mention of economic reforms and the significant benefits and changes these have brought to people. He prefers to be identified with the poor and the disadvantaged and with the aspirations of the new middles class born out of the process of reforms. There are more conflicts in society and more resistance to the new. Industry needs land to grow but farmers are unwilling to let go of land without proper compensation. The new middle class wants to shift to the next level of prosperity but there are hindrances. The poor want a bigger share in the prosperity pie but they are denied the opportunity. The consequent tension in society should be seen as a logical development. The process of reforms has made people aware of the value of money and the potential of a better life. The popular psyche has changed significantly but not the political worldview. That the UPA and the Congress are in deep confusion today is one example of the lag between both. A part of the UPA wants to go ahead with the reforms process but there is strong resistance to it from a powerful section which believes in old school politics of playing to gallery. Rahul belongs to the second section. So when he speaks about bringing development and industries to UP, it sounds a bit odd. He should be addressing the new expectations of people, not indulging in populism. It would be a great show of maturity for him if he admitted in the open that there are challenges before him which do not render themselves to easy solutions. But a confident leader is not supposed to say that. It would be construed as a show of weakness. So we have to digest more nonsense from the political class.